Voters struggling over transportation measure

Judging from a handful of people filling out ballots at the St. Joseph Parish social hall on Capitol Hill Tuesday afternoon, voters struggled over the transportation measure that has split the environmental community.

“It was very complicated. I went back and forth,” siad Linda Bowers, 61.

Like a lot of voters, she was troubed the meausure includes money for more roads, in addition to expanding transit.

But ultimately, she was voting for Proposition 1.

“I think among commuters, there’s a lot of desperation to find a transit solutiion. If we wait for something better, things are just going to get worse.”

Annie Thenell, 41, came down the same way, fearing that if the measure fails, nothing will happen. Referring to the region voting against building a mass transit system in the late 1960s, she said,

“If we’d done something 20-30 years ago, we wouldn’t be in this situation. There’s always going to be a cost. We’re paying for it in other ways with the traffic we have.”

At a polling place near Green Lake, Amy Larson also voted no after a lot of soul-searching. She liked the idea of more transit but felt the new road segments should be paid for with tolls and didn’t like the long payback period for project financing. “I want to see how the Sea-Tac light rail (segment) goes before we put up 50 more miles of it.”

Derek Kirkham, 33, said he’d forgotten it was Election Day until his girlfriend reminded him to vote. He voted against the package, believing it contained too much money for expanding roads.

“I don’t think roads are the solution,” he said. Though the measure also contained money for expanding Sound Transit’s light rail, he said:”We shouldn’t have to vote for just anything to get what we want.”